Eight young ladies listen intently to instructor Ronnette Riforgiat at the beginning of a POUND class in the Dunkirk High School gym.

It’s fun being a girl. And it’s awesome being ME!

That sentiment was echoed over and over again by the 55 participants in the day-long “I’MPOWER ME” event held Saturday at Dunkirk High School. The fun-filled day was open to northern Chautauqua County girls in grades 4 to 7.

Tammy Racino, an instructor at Elevation Combat Sports Academy, and social worker Melissa Pietrkiewicz saw a need and were determined to fill it. Their focus was on empowering young girls to be themselves and not feel the pressure to conform.

Seven mini-workshops were offered, each 35 minutes long: Zumba and POUND exercise classes, cooking, vision board creation, art, circuit training and essential oils.

“It was a day to inspire girls, try new things, make new friends and feel supported,” Ms. Racino said.

Improving self-esteem, self-confidence and self-perception were at the heart of the specially selected activities. So was making new friends as was apparent from the get-go. At registration, each girl was given a “swag bag” complete with a compliment card, T-shirt, a get to know you bingo card icebreaker, and a notepad and pen for swapping phone numbers and email addresses.

Breaking for lunch, some Dunkirk High softball players who were serving as team leaders commented on the younger girls’ progress. Morgan Cotton related, “The girls when they arrived were very quiet. Now they’re actually being friendly to each other, talking and opening up a lot more. By the time we were done with our first activity (icebreaker bingo), they were all talking to each other and were willing to talk to us if they needed something.”

Monica Pokoj, the Marauders’ ace, added, “I was in middle school before I started actually making friends and putting myself out there. This day is about stirring up some confidence at a young age. We are having fun inspiring them.”

Participants were divided into groups of seven or eight, with every effort made to separate them from familiar faces. In one group, for instance, five different schools were represented. Girls came to the high school from Dunkirk, Fredonia, Brocton, Silver Creek, Forestville, Sinclairville and Pine Valley. Many were eager to talk about the day’s activities.

Isabella Dutton, an 11-year-old student from Sinclairville Elementary, singled out the vision board. She explained, “A vision board is something that is inspirational to you and can give you your outlook on life. If you want to be a singer, you can put a microphone on it. I want to be a meteorologist.”

Conducted by Ms. Pietrkiewicz, the workshop’s theme was “My Vision, My Life.” The girls cut and pasted pictures from magazines onto a board. When finished, the pictures reflected answers to questions such as, what is important to me? What do I like? Who am I? What goals do I have? Who do I want to be? What do I want people to know about me? The vision board is a constant reminder of what that person wants to be and to aim to be the best.

The group included some exercise buffs such as 12-year-old Gia Laurito from Fredonia Middle School who loved the zumba class led by Jayme Delcamp and would like to do it again. Giada Kirell, a fourth-grader at Dunkirk’s School 7 and Forestville’s Madelynne Valentine, also gave kudos to zumba. Pine Valley student Molly Fritsch and Fredonia’s Evelyn Cuthbert opted for Ronnette Riforgiat’s POUND class as their preferred activity.

Molly Kelley, a fifth-grader from School 7, voted for Jodie Korzenski’s art class as her favorite, explaining, “You painted really inspiring words.” Among the words painted on styrofoam were Love; Faith; Family; Strong; Peace; and Unique.

When Rebecca Lash, a sixth-grader at Fredonia Middle School, was asked what she liked best about the day, she replied, “The girls. Meeting new girls. And doing the essential oils.”

Heather Flores demonstrated the uses of essential oils. “For me, essential oils is about taking charge of our own health and wellness,” Ms. Flores said. We have so many chemicals in this world that are mass produced and constantly coming to us in products that are sold and aren’t good for us. It is up to us to empower ourselves so that we are putting the highest quality whatever inside, outside and around our bodies because we know that the companies aren’t doing that for us.”

Finishing off the seven stations, Beast Mode circuit training was led by Dave Harriger, owner of Elevation Sports Academy, in the high school gym. In the cafeteria, Michele Cerrie instructed the girls in cooking healthy food, rewarding them with either a hot vegetable or fruit wrap.

A motivational speech was delivered by Ms. Pietrkiewicz, the founder of Partners in Kind — a humanitarian organization striving to fill the gaps in the area and assist working families who have fallen on hard times. It was clear that she commanded her young audience’s rapt attention.

“The meanest person to you is yourself,” Ms. Pietrkiewicz stressed. “No matter what, every time you look in the mirror you will find something you don’t like about yourself. Experiences in life will either weigh you down or push you forward. Be nice to yourself. When you look in the mirror, telegraph good things to your brain. And what will be so much different is if you can leave here today and the next time you look in the mirror see only the things you love about yourself.”

She added, “Be the best version of you ever. Do what you need to do to feel good about yourself. Happiness comes from within.”

Ms. Racino stressed that, “Each girl has a gift to give. She just has to figure out what it is.”

Proceeds from the “I’MPOWER ME event are earmarked for the DHS softball team, Partners in Kind and the Elevation Combat Sports Academy DHS Public Service Scholarship.

A win-win for these three organizations and 55 empowered young ladies!